The Apostle Paul described Jesus as “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” “Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” Righteousness, holiness and redemption come to us through the cross. The cross, Christ crucified was the wisdom of God (and “the foolishness of men”).
The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians about at least one of God’s intentions for the church, “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ephesians 3:10,11)
This “manifold wisdom of God” is described by one commentator as “an object of contemplation to heavenly intelligences.” (T.K. Abbott, The Epistles to the Ephesians and to the Colossians)
While some believe that God created all things “for the purpose of showing by the church His wisdom to the angelic hosts,” this would be to miss the point of Paul’s message here.
The church, the community of the faithful, the redeemed have become instructors of the heavenly hosts. The church is teaching heavenly beings about the “manifold wisdom of God,” God’s wisdom in “very numerous forms” and “strange diversity”. (John Eadie, Ephesians)
“The wisdom is connected with the mystery and its opening, and that mystery is the introduction of the Gentiles into the kingdom of God.” (Ephesians 3:6) Israel had been selected by God as his people for two thousand years. “But now again the human race, without discrimination, have been reinstated in religious privilege.” (Eadie)
Through Jesus Christ an “unconditional salvation” was presented to the world. That is, being Jewish or becoming Jewish was not a condition for belonging to God’s family. Any people group was now eligible for salvation through the Messiah. Salvation came through the Jewish nation, specifically through the Messiah Jesus, but it was a salvation for the whole world.
And now that salvation is being proclaimed to the various nations and ethnic groups of the world in a glorious unfolding of the manifold wisdom of God. How the Gospel of Jesus Christ is reaching into the multitude of people groups around the world is an amazing thing to behold. Indeed, God’s manifold wisdom is being manifested in thousands of ways as his salvation goes forth to the ends of the earth.
Angelic beings are amazed. They are seeing the infiltration of the Gospel into numerous people groups who have been held captive by spiritual entities and spiritual strongholds for ages. These spiritual strongholds are being torn down by ordinary human beings full of the Spirit of God and wisdom, relying on a great God.
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